


Booking The Adventure

by Adeleidhis



Category: The Hobbit - All Media Types, The Hobbit - J. R. R. Tolkien
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-12
Updated: 2018-11-12
Packaged: 2019-08-22 19:56:48
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,926
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16604495
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Adeleidhis/pseuds/Adeleidhis
Summary: An actress, finally getting some principle roles in movies is the best thing that could happen to her. That is until she suddenly must go on a REAL adventure. There are no trampolines, rigged up harnesses, or second cuts this time though. The special effects here are very real, and very un-expecting...





	Booking The Adventure

**Author's Note:**

> This story is like my own little twist of the A/B/O culture. Hope you enjoy!

Chapter 1- The Wrap

"Alright people that's a wrap!" The assistant director called out.  
Lights were dimmed, props were being moved and the harness I was in was removed. My shoulders fell slack and I let loose a sigh of relief and accomplishment. We had been working on this little chase scene all day until finally we got a few shots that the director liked. The day was late afternoon which meant it was over. I go to change out of my outfit and return to my room. Let no one be fooled. Being a performer IS hard work even for the actors. What they see on the big screen was only ten percent of the actual work that goes into it after all. But I loved it. This scene was very hard to execute properly, and now that we finally got it, I was going to celebrate with an ice cream.  
"That was great guys! We finally nailed it!" The director called out. "It's been a long time coming. Six months and our film project is finally half way done! Now comes the final piecing together and editing our shots in the next two months. Our wrap up party is pushed back to next month since some of us have other jobs after this to get done. During editing we may call you to shoot another scene again. So thank you all again. I'll see you Friday."  
There was a loud chorus of cheers and claps that I participate in too. Exhausted as I was, I still feel excited for the future. If all works out, this movie might even be on the big screen. Whether it made it there or not wasn't that much of a concern to me, so long as I kept booking good parts like this, I might eventually make it to the Queen of the Crop in Hollywood or Atlanta. They're saying Atlanta is the new Hollywood now anyway.  
Jumping into my car, I drive back to the motel I had been staying in. My friend herbie called me just as I walked in. I put him on video chat. " Hey herbie."  
"Hey you!" He greeted me with that big smile of his. "So you all done? How ya feeling?"  
"Tired, but happy. Living the dream. Just like you too."  
Herbie chuckled. " I wouldn't say I am quite living the dream, but I am pretty close to it." He leaned a little closer to the screen as I passed by my desk where an opened box of The Hobbit action figures were in. He shook his head and laughed some more. " Got some little friends keeping you company? I'm judging you so hard right now."  
"Shut up. You're just jealous because they have better beards than you." I tease when I showed him the Gloin action figure that my co workers had bought for me for my birthday. "One day I am going to be on a movie as grand as this one. Might even be Marvel movie, or another fantasy with meddling wizards, elves and dwarves."  
"Ooh, I hope not." Herbie groaned while still smiling. "We'll never see you again."  
I laughed along with him. "Well, I'll send an invite and you can come visit me on my home planet."  
Herbie shrugged. "Just let me know the culture so I don't get thrown in jail for something. So what are you going to do now?"  
"I am going to celebrate wiiiiith… a cookies and cream malt, and then sleep for days." I sigh happily.  
"Now that sounds like a plan to me. I need catch some Z's myself." Herbie said. "Alright. Buzz you later."  
"See ya later. Sleep well." I smile back to him before ending the video chat. Herbie had been a great and loyal friend since the day I met him at our job together at the book store.  
After putting away my character outfit neatly, showering off all this extra stage make up, and changing into some old cargo pants, a simple blue shirt and my long jacket with colorful patches on the front and a pair of comfortable tennis shoes. I was ready.  
Just as I locked up my motel room though, I realized I wasn't ready. I left my wallet. Packed up everything but left my wallet. I'd leave my head behind if it wasn't attached to my shoulders. So going back inside I grabbed the belt I bought with two pockets, or fancy Fannie pack, and leave once again.  
Now that I am ACTUALLY ready, I pack everything up in my vehicle, check out of the inn, and look for a place that sells creamy delights on my way back home. It was about a three hour drive from here to my actual home. I could have stayed one more night at the inn, but It's no biggie. I got used to these long trips and I can sleep in the next day anyway. On the way home was a nice little burger joint that I liked to stop by for the malt treat I favored so much.  
Jamming to some catchy tune while on my way home, the drive almost seems shorter and shorter nearly every time I make it. Especially when most of the roads were nearly empty. I was now living on my own with my own little home and my own little bills. Not that more bills was enough to scare me, I had long been waiting for my own place with my own rules.  
It is around four when I pull up in the driveway of my home. So glad to be in my own place to enjoy my own peace, it was like getting a second burst of energy now having returned to my own territory. I put everything up and walk to my back porch. The night felt cool against my skin. There is woods at the right side that stretched further out. I would normally go for dry runs with my 'bug-out' back pack for the fun and exercise. Yes I was a bit of a prepper as a hobby. Don't judge me. I decide to go for a walk through it. I had done so many times before, nearly memorizing every shrub or tree in it's place.  
So, when the light suddenly started dimming at a much faster pace than normal, the wind picking up with unfamiliar smells I had not noticed before, the plant life wavering as if underwater, that got me alarmed. I look around at the sudden change, back-pedaling. "What….What's going on?" I ask aloud, as if the nearest tree was just going to answer me. Just as suddenly as it started, it stopped. I don't know what it is, so I turn around to go back home, only to stop in my track again. My house was not in view. I know for a fact I wasn't far enough to not see the house from here. So where did it go? In fact, what happened to the forest I was actually in?  
Looking about, things are much, greener than the woods I am used to. I spin around two times, searching for anything familiar but find nothing. "Uhhh, what happened? Where's my house? I don't like change." I mutter to myself, hoping to use the humor to ease the alarm building up.  
Well, standing here wasn't going to help me solve anything. Might as well keep walking. But I don't have a clue about where I am at now. Looking at the ground, I grab a large stick and stab it into the soft earth and mess up the dirt around it to use as a marker.  
Looking up at the sky, it looks to be about the same time, if not a little later, than when I first left. As best as I can guess anyway from the shadows. A flock of birds took off in the sky with a chorus of wild calls. I grimaced at it and kept going. Not long after that, echoes of foot steps and heavy breathing could be heard. I scramble behind a tree, hoping to see whatever was causing it, hide if it was dangerous. It sounded like it was getting closer but not directly towards me. From my left I peeked down this small slope as I saw glimpses of someone with a red hood still up, running away. The short figure disappeared quickly.  
"What's this? Lost too are we?" A hissing voice behind me startled me with such a violent flinch I nearly threw myself over the little hill just to get away. Turning about to meet the sneaky guy, I barely hide my shocked face. He smiled it's blacked teeth at me with it's jagged blade out. "Yer a pretty thing. I can have all to meself first."  
"Uh, Is this a set? Did I walk into a movie shot?" I say as I point at his get-up. "Ya got some pretty good prosthetics going on your costume there." I half smile.  
He tilted his head in confusion at me for a moment before looking down at his own person. " Pros-teticks? I don't got none of that. Come on. Up you get now, and if ye scream, I'll gut you right here."  
He roughly pulled me to my feet. Now I am confused. " This isn't a movie shooting?" I repeat. Now that I mention it, the hooded man wasn't being followed by a car with a camera hooked on the side. This awful smelling guy manhandling me sure seemed far too genuine for LARPING too. His sword was far too real and in my face to be a set up. My eyes fell on him once again. "You're a real orc?"  
"Of course I'm a real orc!" He snapped as if that was the stupidest question he'd ever heard. Actually it probably was.  
"Oh nooo." I groan as it clicked in my head. His sword was getting too close to my neck, and I just reacted out of impulse. I kicked at his stomach and shoved him down the slope. The next second I run like my life depended on it, which it did. The better choice would probably have been to kill that thing, but the smarter choice is to run for my life. Especially when I hear more of the things behind me. It is hard to tell how much are there. Ahead of me I see a winding river. If I could make it to the water, I might stand a chance at living.  
Huffing nearly out of breath, I scramble through the small woods. If I could get to high ground, then maybe the orcs would be a lot easier to pick off. Not that I have much of a hope anyway other than running. With no weapons or a lot of skill in anything but a few defense training, I really didn't stand much of a chance. Even if I could make fires and a decent camp in the woods, food and water on the other hand was nearly impossible. Having always been a very active and curious person, knew a few skills in a wide variety, but I am not exactly Les Stroud.  
I am also not a marathon runner either. I do start to lose my breath here soon. Just as I risked a glance around me, my foot catches onto some very hard, jangling root that sends me ungracefully kissing the ground. There was a hiss to my left that startled me to get up again. I gasp at the new enemy. Only it wasn't an orc. It was the hooded figure from before, crouched low. "Oh shoot." I scrambled defensively.  
The hood was thrown back, nearly blinding me with white hair and pale skin. It was an old man. No, old dwarf, with his right leg caught in some trap that he winced at. His hair white as clouds, long white beard and dressed in black, scarlet and silver stitching. I can recognize that hooked nose anywhere. Balin. Son of Fundin. I don't realize I am staring at the poor dwarf until our eyes met and immediately my own heart is distressed at seeing him like that.  
I looked away quickly. My eyes falling on what had tripped me. It was not a branch, but a chain. He had fallen into some trap that the orcs must have laid out. What are the odds. But why would orcs lay traps like these? Didn't they usually ambush and raid?  
Catching my own breath, I examined the generic 'bear trap' that had him rooted there. He does not say a word to me just yet, probably catching his own breath or trying to stay quiet. Inching up to him, I gingerly reach for the device. I know a few tinkering techniques thanks to my dad's many skills, though none of them were mechanics in hunting traps. Still, it looked simple enough, just hard to undo. I grunt in the effort to help him out of it. Then the air echoed with more screeching war cries of the orcs.  
"Go." He hissed. "Run lassie. Quickly." He gently pushes me away.  
"Not yet." I retort. His nudge puts me in a better line of sight on the two levers that held him in place. Up I get to stomp on them.  
He makes the weirdest grunt I have ever heard yet, like a mix of some animalistic growl and a groan of pain. It is quickly replaced with surprise and then a determined glint as he picks himself up. I can't tell yet how bad his poor leg was maimed, enough to make him limp though. The screeches were coming closer and I am getting a little desperate here. I sidle up next to his right, taking his arm to encourage him to use me to lean on. "Come on." I whisper so low I am not sure if he even hears me, but it doesn't matter. The old dwarf eye-balls me warily at first but does not pull away. Larper or not, at least he seems to be accurate to how I would guess the real Balin would act. His arm is around my middle, supported too by my hands as I help guide him away. Though I sure wish I knew where I was going. At least I can go slow and catch my breath now. Balin was thin lipped, frowning at the ground ahead of us as he focused on just moving forth. The adrenaline in my own body motivates me to keep at his side and keep going. The river stretches out in front of us as we clear a clump of trees and off to the side were more rocky outcroppings. He starts that way, steering us towards the high ground. I let him take the lead while I offer the best support I could. Up we clambered onto the rocks, his hand carefully reaches for a clump of vines that he moves out of the way. He grunts in some mental approval, having found a tiny hidden cave covered by a rough curtain of vines and foliage. I help hold them out the way for him and I to crawl in.  
I peer out, hoping we don't have any pursuers close enough to see where we are hiding. Behind me, Balin lets out a heavy sigh as his back rests against the rock. He looks as tired as I was when I left the set. It occurs to me that he could have been bleeding this whole time. Carefully I shift closer, asking to examine the wound with my eyes. I don't know why I don't just use my words. It could be because I feel like we should still be quiet. His brown eyes fell on my face, shifted to my slowly approaching hands to his leg. Lifting up the pant leg, I see that indeed, a part of the traps broke skin on opposite sides where blood streams ran freely. Lines that now formed purple bruises were showing up.  
Just as I was contemplating what to do for it, the yells came back. I whipped my head around towards the sounds. The monsters sure were a stubborn lot. If they caught up to us though, I don't think Balin would stand as much of a chance if they surrounded us. I look at his injury in disdain. Then there's only one other option, dumb as it might be. I looked up at the old dwarf again. He had a grim scowl on his face. When his eyes met mine again though, I lift one finger to my lips. "Sssh."  
I bolt out of the hiding place, covering it back and skipping back down to the bank to the edge of the tree line.  
"No! Come back!" I hear Balin hiss behind me. He did not grab me in time to stop me from leaving.  
I was worried though, if I stay, then they'd find us both. If I led the orcs away then one of us should survive. 'Still a stupid idea. I'm no marathon runner. How long do I think I can keep this up? I can't rely on some last minute save from some random traveler.' I mentally berate myself as four orcs yell and brandish their weapons when they see me. I take off again down the bank of the river, opposite of Balin's hiding spot.  
I'm not that fast of a runner either, having only been accustomed to short sprints. They see me though and my plan so far is working. At least the four that saw me have not paid any attention to the rocks. Now what? If I can keep a good distance ahead of them, and maybe swim across the river…  
Another glance behind me shows that they are hot on my trail. I better think of something else quick. The only other quick option is to jump in the river now. I start by running in the water, just deep enough for my feet to submerge. Though they didn't seem to stay submerged. It was like the water was shrinking from me. "Hey." I huff in agitation. The water had shrank back so much that I tread right to the middle and it only came up to my waist. The water is cold, but not enough to stop me from running for my life. Within a few moments I make it to the other side, now huffing and puffing like the old wolf and three pigs.  
The orcs scowl and scream at me in their black tongue on the opposite bank. They're not crossing the water? Well, maybe I am safe for the moment. They shoved at each other, pushing towards the water until the two smallest ones were volunteered to cross first. Never mind they are still coming. Well now what?  
I search the ground for any branches I might be able to use as a club while I try to catch my breath. Of course I am still going to keep running, but at this rate I figure I might have to fight at some point. Problem is, most of my fighting skills were staged combat…  
A rumbling roaring sound catches my attention. Down the river I see what looks like a large white wall rushing our way. The orcs roar out in terror as they tried to scramble away. Me too when I see this great rush of water rushing for us suddenly. Jogging away from the river bank as much as my burning legs would allow, I get out in time to see the flood wash away the orcs, rinsing them down towards the large lake that shimmered in the remaining sun. Something tells me that they will not be lucky enough to make it to the banks.  
The lake though, was truly a beautiful body of water that I admire while recuperating. I get a fantastic view atop the hill I am standing on. It also happens to give me a better vantage point of my where-a-bouts. All around me were rolling hills north to south. The lake is east while behind me was the forest then behind that stretched miles of field dotted with more forests as far as my eyes could see. Hues and shades of greens, mixed in with a kaleidoscope of colors from wildflowers, then browns to grays from trees is all that surrounds me. Not one street sign, or paved road to be detected. It was both exhilarating and frightening. It also meant civilization might be a lot harder to find as well. Maybe I should turn back and see if I can find the Balin impersonator.  
Re-tightening the straps on my backpack, I start walking down the hill. The lake is so large I can't even see the other bank very well. That also disheartens me a little, because from where I am standing now I can't see any signs of people at all. I do see, as I walk along the banks, ruins of old buildings that used to be prosperous. Limestone and granite dotted the banks I explore. Some of which still had some semblance of architectural designs on them. I do wonder if any I find might be suitable enough for a shelter. At this rate I am not going to find another person before nightfall. Walking gingerly around the few ruins, else something should try and ambush me, I peek around the outcroppings to examine what might be the best place.  
Just a little further, I find what looked like the remains of some sort of castle grounds or grand watch tower. It makes me wish I had wings and could just fly everywhere I wanted to go, explore every part of the ruins I could. I snap myself out of it though. More importantly I need to find shelter that won't sap what little body heat my body could produce. So cold stone and bare ground were out of the question. Although my clothes were designed for hiking and camping, they still could only do so much to keep me warm when I am still. I find a place that would make for good shelter from nearly all the elements except for chill. The best chance I had against that would be a fire. So the last few hours of daylight was spent gathering dry wood and grass. Once I got a little spot cleared for the fire, I dig in my bag for a Firestarter. There was in fact one inside it and to my surprised delight, an emergency blanket. "Really? I had this all along too?" The things I forget sometimes. The fire starter takes me some time, as I have never actually used it before, but I finally get a good working spark to light the dry grass and the pile of twigs. I don't know how long the first pile will last until I need to fuel the fire again, so I take the time to bed down on my makeshift mattress and wrap up in the emergency blanket. My fuel was a very large pile of twigs, sticks and dried grass I piled up that should last me the whole night so long as I make I stretch. So I will get what shut-eye I can and try again tomorrow. The crickets, frogs and random splashes make it a challenge, but eventually it happens. Thank God.


End file.
